My husband and I travelled here from Feb 1-Feb8/12. We arrived quite late after 2.5 hrs getting through customs (which isn't normal) and the ppl at the front desk were courteous and fast and brought us a lovely welcome drink.
Oscar at the lobby bar will make your trip! He is always smiling and makes the best margaritas.
The rooms are upscale and modern. We had a small villa on the golf course side and it was perfect for the two of us. I would like to request that they have a dresser or something to put your suitcase on as they only had the closets and we had to leave our suitcases on the floor. Other than that, the room was great, clean and the bar was stocked - well with beer and scotch anyways. The shower was fine once you figure out that the temperatures go the opposite way. haha
The guy who goes around with the bug fog at around 5 every day is a bit brutal. It's nasty if you're out walking around. Make sure you're in your room for this.

it is definitely a quite resort as everyone says - sometimes that was welcome, but at other times, it was too quiet. The instrumental Guns and Rose and Van Halen music was a bit much after a while. Would have preferred something a bit more upbeat. My husband and I are in our early 30's and while we loved the resort, and had a good time, I don't think we would go back. We prefer something with a bit more atmosphere and energy. Unfortunately there wasn't much for atmosphere and aside from the staff and the location, this could have been a resort anywhere. It didn't feel as much like Mexico as other places we've stayed.

A big plus for them is the trolley system - this works so great and with the private beach, it's not an issue to be on the other side of the highway. You're never more than 10 minutes from anywhere on the resort.

We just returned from a week at the Sian Ka'an and had an awesome time. Here are a few pros and cons to share:

Claudia, Thank you for all of your work! We e-mailed her in advance to schedule our dinners and t-times and she was prompt to respond and upon arrival we had further confirmation. She didn't miss one detail!

Rooms: We stayed in a suite, top floor in building 15. Very nice size and quiet. However, no dresser drawers or shelving to put your clothes. You could hang them, but not enough hangers. Otherwise, the room was clean and cared for daily. If you don't like thick pillows, bring your own. They didn't have anything but the new high fill pillows.

Food/Service: Faustino was the best! He immediately learned from our arrival what we liked and made sure we were cared for. Upon arrival each morning for breakfast he made sure we had our capuchino's and double espressos. Oscar at the bar made drinks just the way you like. The staff was friendly and always willing to make you comfortable or get you what you needed. The buffett provided wonderful fresh fish and variety. Great chocolate in the evening. Don Pablo's at Talum was excellent, the beef was so tender and perfectly cooked. The Maiko was delicious, we ate there twice. The scallops melted in your mouth. The Alux, we felt, was not worth it, we thought the buffett provided tastier options.

Golf: Fantastic course. The greens weren't pristine but the fairways fast and the undulations made it a challenge to play. The only thing that was odd was we were not allowed to check in earlier then 1/2 prior to our t-time, which meant you had a 1/2 hour for putting/pitching and using the driving range plus get back to the starter. Maybe for some that's O.K. but if the time is stamped on our ticket for t-time, it's the starters responsibility not to let us on sooner. But the club house was unreasoning on this. We did enjoy the lunch menu and bar selection at the club house. You can enjoy the drink cart, you have to pay for the beer.

Recommendations: Bring bug repellent and an umbrella.

My friend and I visited Sian Ka'an from 2/5-2/10, 2012. It was such an amazing trip, from the moment we felt the relaxed upscale vibe at Sian Ka'an and took in the beautiful and tasteful zen-like decor. I wish I was there right now. Our room was 2nd floor by the small quiet pool and we loved it. Besides wanting some patio furniture, not one complaint. We are in our mid-30's and came together for a 'girls' trip, so we were looking for relaxation and calm rather than partying and a loud scene. Although I think this resort might as well be adult only, the few children we saw were quiet and not the screaming variety. There was a mixed crowd however we saw mostly people our age or older and at least by our pool there was no attempts at drinking games or anything we would have found annoying. Again, that is what we wanted and I think the other pools at Sian Ka'an were more lively with some activities and more of a party vibe. We enjoyed the spa one day and lounged around the resort by the pool, and other days walked to the beach (yes, you can walk and depending on your pace will get there in 15-30 minutes) and took the trolley back to eat. We found Sian Ka'an's buffet to be better than the others although we only tried Tulum once and that was enough. We also took the colectivo (outrageously easy and not at all a big deal - save your money and get on these things) to Akumal and Half Moon Bay down the highway to see turtles and have one lunch outside of the resort (the beach restaurant at Half Moon Bay was fantastic).

Food/A la cartes: Don Pablo was by far our favorite, Arlequin was excellent as well, Sian Ka'an's Alux was very nice. However, the Mediteranean restaurant was horrendous. Service was fine but the food was just inedible. We couldn't get a reservation at the Mexican restaruant although I bet we could have just gone and tried b/c none of the restaurants seemed full. As a vegetarian, I requested this be listed when I made reservations. At some of the restaurants (Don Pablo, Alux), someone came up to me and checked in about what I wanted/needed. I found this to be part of top notch individualized service in this huge mega-resort. We ate delicious breakfasts at Sian Ka'an as well as lunches. Snack bar food was edible but nothing special, although the chips/guacomole dip were good.

The grounds are beautiful and you can see a variety of birds, butterflies, plants, and animals. The snorkeling at the beach was only so-so although I knew that going in. I am glad they are saving coral by roping it off but its too bad tourists cannot be trusted or educated to see the coral without damaging it. Even at Akumal Bay, outside of the resort, where sea turtles are pretty easy to spot, people go on chasing them around to touch them despite signs that say not to. Not sure what to do about this but place more signs?!?

Anyway, we ended up not going to the disco except for popping our heads in. It may just have been the type of trip we were on and our mood, but it seemed a bit corny for us. Again, we were not in the partying mode and could have probably preferred salsa lessons/low key dancing over the club. We never seemed to find some of the activities we would have enjoyed, so if there was some way to get a master list of all of the planned activities on all 4 resorts it would seem more accessible. For instance, at another resort one night (who knows which one, they start to look the same) a small outdoor dance thing started. The employees were trying to get everyone up dancing but the music was not our style - techno. So we said we want to dance Salsa or Bachata and the guy said "that was last night, you lose!". I may have tried to stop by the night before to check that out but I guess if you are not staying there it is difficult to know about the smaller shows. They advertise the bigger shows like the michael jackson thing.

Overall I fell in love with Sian Ka'an. The only times I wished we were on the beach was early morning/late afternoon when I would have liked to see the sunrise/set or try out snorkeling at better times. I could have made it happen but was lazy :) I prefer their decor, mood and vibe, over the other resorts. The beach area for Sian Ka'an is central and wonderful, and you have choices to walk away from people or head 5 minutes down the highway if you want a different scene. Thank you to Oscar and Paloma, who made the trip even more special.

Our trip was from Jan 30 - Feb 06, 2012. Although the weather wasn't cooperating, everything else was superb. From the amazing buffet to access to 3 other sister resorts a la cartes, you never tired of the food. This resort is the most quiet of the 4, which I quite enjoyed. If you wanted more fun and excitement it was just a short trolley ride to the beach and the other resorts. There is access to something for everyone and I highly recommend staying here!